The Little Merman
by PeepingSageofDarkness
Summary: What if Eric became a merman instead of Ariel becoming a human? Would they still end up together? Read and review!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This little idea just kind of popped into my head one day. It seemed pretty original. I mean, who says the girl has to do everything? Yes, I know she wanted to be on land and such. But I was just curious. Flame me if you want. By the way, I don't own The Little Mermaid or anything else, really. Enjoy!**

Where could she have gone? Eric thought to himself. It couldn't have been a mirage.

He couldn't stop thinking about the girl, the one who had saved him the other day. She was so beautiful, and her voice was heavenly. He wanted to see her again so badly it made him want to wreck another ship and nearly drown.

One of his many servants walked into his study, interrupting his angry pacing while he thought. He glared at the nervous young man. Hadn't anyone told the new staff members about the rules? When the door was closed, you only entered if there was a fire. Even then, you had to knock first. The study was a place where he could usually think without being interrupted. Not today, apparently.

"What do you want?" he snapped.

"Um, sir," the servant stammered, obviously new to the job and scared out of his wits. "There's someone here to see you. I…I don't know who she is, but…"

He didn't get to finish before Eric ran out of the room. Was it possibly her? Had she found him first? Before he could tell himself not to get too hopeful, his heart was pounding and a huge smile was spreading across his face. He sprinted down the hall to the main staircase and looked down to observe his visitor.

When he saw who it was, his heart sank. It wasn't her. It was the princess of that neighboring country, Maldo-something or other. It was a long name, and Eric had never taken the time to memorize it. For two years now, she had been visiting on a regular basis, trying to charm him into marrying her. It was a dream of her father's that their two kingdoms be united, but Eric wanted none of that.

Today, he decided, was not a good day to deal with the princess. Before she could look up and spot him, he turned around, heading back the way he came. He knew it was rude of him to abandon his guest, but he was not in the mood to deal with her annoying attempts to entrap him.

He needed to get out of the castle, but he wasn't about to go through the main doors. She would definitely see him if he tried that. However, there was the door that led to the garden. He could always leap the fence and escape to town for a few hours. He needed some fresh air.

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

It hadn't been hard to make his escape. All the servants had been busy tending to the princess, and no one expected him to leave while he had a guest. It wasn't like him to be so rude. Oh well, he thought. I'm not feeling like myself today.

He walked down the winding streets of the town, barely seeing the scenery. Thoughts of the girl were overtaking him. How could he find a way to see her again? How could he even find her?

"I know where the one you love is," a creaky voice whispered.

"What?" Eric was shocked. "What are you talking about?"

"I know where the one you love is," the voice repeated.

"Where are you?" Eric asked. "Show yourself!"

An old woman stepped away from the dirty wall she had been leaning against. She was hideously ugly, covered with boils, hunched over. Her clothes were of an unrecognizable color, dirty, ripped, and gave off the unmistakable stench of human sweat. In a word, she was disgusting, and Eric recoiled accordingly.

She cackled at his reaction, a hoarse, raspy sound. He shuddered.

"I know who she is," she said. "I know where to find her. I can help you."

Eric was wary. "How could I possibly trust you?"

"Suit yourself," she said. She started to shuffle away.

"Wait," Eric said hurriedly. "Could you just tell me where to find her?" He was desperate, after all. Apparently so desperate that he would listen to crazy old women in the alley.

The old woman turned around. "Come with me," she said, starting to shuffle off at a much faster pace.

Eric followed, almost having to run to keep up. For a feeble old woman, she sure was fast. She led him through many twisting, turning alleyways until he was extremely lost. Then she stopped in front of a dilapidated old building with a broken door and a sagging roof. She started to go inside.

He hesitated on the threshold for a while, then finally decided to enter the house. The inside was incredible. It was clean, for one thing. There were also huge shelves of glass bottles filled with various substances wrapped around all the walls. In the middle of the room was a giant cauldron. The old woman was standing next to it, pouring a silvery liquid into it while she murmured some words.

Great, Eric thought. A crazy old woman who thinks she's a witch. Why did I even follow her here?

The old woman motioned to Eric. "Look," she said.

Inside the cauldron, the liquid was shimmering, and an image appeared to be coming into view. When the shimmering stopped, he saw her. The girl who saved him. He looked at the old woman, shocked. She smiled.

As Eric studied the image, he saw a few strange things. The girl appeared to be underwater, but she wasn't drowning. She also appeared to be talking with a fish. However, the strangest thing of all was the fish-like fin where her legs should have been.

"That's right," the old woman said. "The one you love is a mermaid, daughter of Triton himself."

Mermaid? Eric thought. But those were only myths…weren't they?

"If you ever want to see her again," the woman continued, "you must go to Triton's realm and see her there."

"How in the world do I do that?" Eric asked.

"Well," the woman said, "I could always turn you into a merman."

"What?" he asked, incredulous.

"Don't doubt that I can," she said warningly. "However, I can only make it temporary."

"What good is that?" he asked.

"If," she said, "you can get her to kiss you within 1 month of your arrival in Triton's realm, you will get to be with her forever as a merman. If, however, she does not, you will brought back here, never to see her again."

All right, Eric thought. One month. I should be able to do it in one month.

"One more thing," the woman added slyly, "I will have to take some sort of payment before I perform the magic."

"Whatever you want me to pay, I'll pay," Eric said. "I have plenty of money."

"Not money!" the woman said. "I meant another kind of payment. I was thinking that I would take your looks."

"What?" he said. "My looks? How do I get her to kiss me then?"

"Well, you'll still have your personality," she said, adding, "though that may not be much of a help."

She looked at him seriously then, a solemn expression on her face. "Do we have a deal?"

"Sure," Eric said.

She smiled, then set to work. As she grabbed substances off the shelves, she kept talking.

"After I've done my work," she said, "I will send the castle a note from you saying that you wish to abdicate the throne in favor of your cousin."

"Won't I need to write one then?" Eric asked.

The woman looked at him with an amused expression. "Of course not," she said. "If I can turn you into a merman for a month, I think I can manage a bit of forgery."

He fell silent then, watching her stir the chemicals. She then started chanting in a strange language. He felt strange, as if something was being pulled away from him. Then, he looked at his hands. They were pockmarked and bony, and his skin was the color of decaying paper. His arms were no better, and he was scared to see his face. She meant it when she said she was taking his looks.

Then there was a strange feeling, as if his legs were being sewn together. Looking down, he saw that that was basically what was happening. His legs were turning into a fin. The sight made him feel sick, and he blacked out.

When he came to, he was in Triton's kingdom.

**A/N: Ok, this is definitely a totally different mood than any story I've written thus far. If you love it or hate it or anything in between, please press the little button below that says Review This Story/Chapter or something very similar to that. I appreciate it!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: OK, here it finally is. I was a little scared that I would be mauled for having it done it such an untimely manner, but hopefully readers will be understanding. As for all the positive reviews I've gotten, it was really overwhelming. Thanks a lot, and I'm really sorry if this chapter stinks and isn't even close to living up to the first. I'm bad with that. Enjoy!**

Eric's head was throbbing. Whatever that crazy witch had given him was really strong. It had actually seemed like she had taken his looks and turned his legs into his fin. From the coldness on his chest, he guessed she had taken his shirt. It was one of his less nice shirts, merely silk and with a rip in the collar, barely discernible but still there. A minor robbery all around, and his due for following her.

Good thing I didn't have anything valuable with me, he thought as he started to open his eyes. That's the last time I ever follow crazy old ladies into the alleyway.

He rubbed his head and blinked. The light was strange, like flickering sunlight. He felt smooth scales beneath his fingers and jumped. A snake! When he looked down, what he saw was even more shocking. A tailfin. An honest-to-goodness tail. Maybe the witch hadn't been kidding just to rob him. He rested his hand on his fin and got another nasty shock. The pockmarked, decayed, bony hand glared at him, not looking any better in this strange aquatic light than it had on the surface.

When he had mostly recovered, he was able to look around him. It seemed pretty dull, this underwater scene. There were some rocks, caves, some sea plants. He didn't even see any fish, let alone other mer-people. Then, he heard singing.

It was her! He knew it in an instant. That voice was not one it was easy to forget. He looked around eagerly, but still didn't see her. Where was she? He even forgot his hideousness in his eagerness to find her. Was she hiding in one of the plants? Eric looked closely, trying to see even the tiniest bit of movement in the empty caves around him. Then, he saw a flash of red hair in one of the caves and heard the singing louder. She was in the cave!

It was a rather small opening. He stared at it for a while, trying to decide whether or not he would fit. Then he realized he was thinking in terms of his old body. This new bony sack would fit easily, and he swam through.

/////////////////////////////////////////////////

"What are you doing here? Did my father send you to spy on me?" She was furious, her eyes seeming to burn holes in Eric's face.

He hadn't realized there would be so many things in the cave. As he swam in, he had hit a container of silverware, which hit the ground with an extremely loud clang. Well, he had certainly gotten her attention.

"I…I…" He couldn't think of anything to say.

"I'm so sick of my father thinking I need to be watched all the time!" she yelled. "You can just go back and tell him that I haven't gone to the surface today and wasn't even planning to!"

Her beauty still shocked him even though she was royally ticked and her expression was twisted accordingly. He couldn't help staring, trying to think of something, anything to say. Then, over her shoulder, he saw something that looked oddly familiar.

He tried to swim over to get a better look, but she was faster. She was very defensive.

"I didn't go to the surface or break into a shipwreck for this one!" she protested loudly. "Flounder found it for me. It's nothing special!" From her tone, he could tell that it was.

Suddenly, he realized what it was. It was that horrid statue that had been on the ship when it wrecked. He hated every bit of it, the pretentious pose and ridiculous accessories. Why would she want to keep it? Unless….was she as desperate to see him again as he had been to see her?

That thought made him giddy, which must have showed on his face, because her eyes narrowed.

"Get out of here!" she yelled. "This is your last warning!"

"Wait!" he said, finding his voice. "Your father didn't send me. I just heard you singing and I…" He gulped, deciding to just say everything. "That statue was presented to me on the day of the shipwreck. You saved me, and ever since then I've been desperate to see you again. So desperate, in fact, that I visited a crazy witch woman and got her to turn me into a merman. So you see, I came in because I recognized your voice and I wanted to see you again so badly…" He trailed off, looking at her apprehensively. She had no expression.

Suddenly, after a long silence, she started laughing.

**A/N: There it is. Tell me what you think of it. Press the little Review this Story/Chapter button now!**


End file.
